Wii Warm Up: Ahh, GoldenEye

by Alisha Karabinus { Feb 19th 2007 at 9:00AM }

With all the positivity flowing from Microsoft toward Nintendo right now via the DS, it looks like the chances of seeing a Rare title or two on the Virtual Console may have increased beyond what we initially anticipated. We're still not saying it's likely, but there may be a better chance than the proverbial snowball has in hell that we'll see a Rare game.

By "Rare game," of course, we mean GoldenEye and you know it. We look fondly upon our time (lots and lots of time) with this beloved multiplayer gem. The simple joy of the grenade launcher. The force with which we cursed our best friends. The violence that ensued. Good times. Talking about it can bring a tear to the eye. But what about you? We talk about it, sure, but would you pay for GoldenEye on the Virtual Console? For that matter, do you think we'll even see it? Let's put it on the table.

Tags: 007, fps, GoldenEye, Microsoft, Nintendo, Rare, Virtual Console, VirtualConsole, Wii, wwu

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Jamie Guy @ Feb 19th 2007 9:10AM

Sure I'd pay. But I dont see it happening. Positivity towards the DS is one thing, but MS isn't in the handheld market. Its more likely to show up on Live Arcade than VC I'd say being that MS has more of the licencenceing cards that the big N does at this point.

zack @ Feb 19th 2007 9:52AM

DK country is coming out today on VC so it seems that rare is right in the game.

http://wiivcdb.com/view/SNES/donkey_kong_country - source

Zan @ Feb 19th 2007 9:59AM

Ahh, I remember when I used to go over to my freinds house and we would borrow the game from his freind and play it on my freinds N64. I remember the big heads and the paintball guns. Good times indeed.

DD @ Feb 19th 2007 12:59PM

Wasn't Bill Gates saying he supported the Wii60 package? If that's the case, Goldeneye shouldn't be that much of a dream.

That having been said, I would pay $20 for it. Quickly.

Mike Sparks @ Feb 19th 2007 10:22AM

Hands down, if I were to only buy one game on the VC, this would be it (granted, I've already bought others). Any time I mention the ability to play previous titles on the Wii, the first question that EVERYONE(even most non-gamers I know)asks is: Can you play Goldeneye?

Hands down, one of the best games ever.

Kakairo @ Feb 19th 2007 10:20AM

The problem isn't Microsoft...it's Sony. Sony owns the James Bond license now (hence 007 saves the world with Vaios and BluRay surveillance systems), and I seriously doubt they would be willing to work with Nintendo on this.

ima747 @ Feb 19th 2007 10:30AM

I don't know a single person that has ever played GoldenEye that wouldn't buy it on the VC... I know people who would go buy a Wii (if they could find one) specificly to play GoldenEye again (not just one crazy friend, but a few).

I think there are probably larger technical issues with releasing GoldenEye on XBL vs just tossing it at the VC. Plus with XBL it would be an insult if it didn't have online multiplayer where as on the VC they don't have to bother. And they still own the game so what's to say they couldn't release it on the VC and see how ravenous the fan boy base is (taking all that money and stuffing it into MS's overflowing caufers) and if it's a big enough hit to warrant more development, slap online multiplayer in and maybe an un-released map or something and double the profits on XBL... I'm sure there are other issues as far as the companies are concerned but cmon, that's guaranteed money from a game that they already own... Now, if they could just get their chicks for free as well...

vidGuy @ Feb 19th 2007 10:27AM

Donkey Kong Country is one thing. Yes, it's a Rare game, but with Nintendo licensed characters. DKC is, in all likelihood, Nintendo's game.

GoldenEye is a VERY long shot on the VC. On top of the Rare issues, there's the James Bond license.

Another Rare game that's a very long shot is Banjo Kazooie. The characters are owned by Rare and there's a new BK game coming out for the 360, so my guess is that if the original BK appears anywhere, it'd be on MS Marketplace.

However, if either were to come out for the VC, they'd make millions. If even 1/5 of current Wii owners downloaded GoldenEye at $10 a pop, that's $10million in revenue from a product that has, for the most part, already been paid for.

I'd buy it, that's for sure.

DeRock @ Feb 19th 2007 10:34AM

I would much rather see Perfect Dark

Joseph Sujka @ Feb 19th 2007 10:42AM

Forget Perfect Dark, doesn't even compare to Goldeneye. It was terrible.

Loban @ Feb 19th 2007 11:28AM

Ahh, the Goldeneye. I was completely unstoppable in that game. My friends and I spent an entire summer playing that game every night for hours and hours.

Oh and btw, Perfect Dark sucks. It was terrible compared to Goldeneye.

Charles @ Feb 19th 2007 11:42AM

I've played Goldeneye and wouldn't buy it for the simple fact that it's not my type of game. Don't get me wrong, I have plenty of fond memories of getting my @$$ kicked and I recognize it's potential to be a fun game. That being said, if I ever feel the need to play an FPS, this would be the one.

aceofspades033 @ Feb 19th 2007 4:59PM

i'd pay $60 maximum, not kidding. I think I'm one of the best Goldeneye multi-players on the planet.

religiousjedi @ Feb 19th 2007 11:54AM

I'd snap it up in a heart beat. If they added an online component...well, I'd declare Wii the winner of this generation! :P

Steve 3.2 @ Feb 19th 2007 11:56AM

I would only pay for it if they axed some of the major slowdown in the game. Speaking of, if you have Mario Kart 64 on the VC, how is frame rate in multiplayer? We all know that MK64 chugged along at times and I was wondering if the frame rate has improved along with the higher resolution graphics (at least on the polygons).

Mr Khan @ Feb 19th 2007 12:00PM

Sony- Owns the rights to the movie
Nintendo- Owns the rights to the original game
Microsoft- Owns the games developer
Activision- Owns the license to make new Bond Games
Rare- Original developer

All must agree to see 007 released in any significant form

If Activision published it, paid Rare to develop the emulation, and released it on Wii, 360, and PS3, then it would happen

tzp2 @ Feb 19th 2007 12:04PM

"Sony- Owns the rights to the movie
Nintendo- Owns the rights to the original game
Microsoft- Owns the games developer
Activision- Owns the license to make new Bond Games
Rare- Original developer"

All the reasons why it won't be released. Though I hope I'm wrong, very wrong. It would be great to see some cooperation though, but how likely is that? Here's to hoping...

Jonny @ Feb 19th 2007 12:05PM

How rad will Goldeneye be with dual analog instead of one analog and 4 C buttons? If they were to release it on VC I see it being a tad more expensive, say 1200 to 1500 points, due to "special licensing fees". You heard it here first.

CJC @ Feb 19th 2007 12:06PM

I always preferred Perfect Dark, really. The story wan't nearly as solid, but the multiplayer, co-op modes, enemy AI, creative weapons, graphics, and level design more than make up for it.

Still, you have to give credit to Goldeneye for making excellent use of a license. I can count the number of games that pulled that off on one hand.

sphetr2 @ Feb 19th 2007 1:10PM

Wii60 = 360 + Wii for Bill Gates, not the other way around. 360 comes first. MS will release it on XBLA before allowing (if at all) Nintendo to release it on VC.

Honestly, if you were MS, what would you do? Give a competing company a huge cash cow or use it for your own profit?

Sandalcrew @ Feb 19th 2007 1:49PM

If I were MS I would release it on BOTH systems and make some easy cash! The problem isn't MS it's Nintendo, they are not willing to pay MS for the chance to put it on the VC because the install base for the Wii is not big enought yet. Nintendo is going to provide the games that they have the easiest access to until they have a big enought install base. Then they will be able to get away with paying big bucks for the more desirable titles.

Nica @ Feb 19th 2007 7:37PM

whoa whoa whoa perfect dark was an amazing game, it surpassed goldeneye on every level except for probably story. everything i wanted in goldeneye i got in perfect dark, co-op, bots, custom weapons settings, etc. yeah, the frame rate was horrible if trying to play with 8 bots and 4 people, unplayable really, but with 4 players only it ran just as smoothly as goldeneye, but had a million more ways to play. i personally loved the game, 100% complete, hundreds of hours in multiplayer. but whatever, to each his own.

and i would buy goldeneye in a heart beat, it'll never happen unless it were to be released on every major console, which i wouldn't mind seeing, give the players what they want! don't be so selfish big 3!

samfish @ Feb 19th 2007 10:46PM

Just work out a deal with MS to release the game on both the VC and XBLA.

Seems fair enough to me, now that MS owns Rare...I guess...and it's the only way we're probably going to ever see Goldeneye revived on any console.

Sloppywillis @ Feb 20th 2007 2:09PM

So nobody here still has a N64 with the GoldenEye cartridge? Cuz I certainly do. And I would rather just play the original than pay a lot to own it on the Wii with a controller it wasn't designed for.

Sloppywillis @ Feb 20th 2007 2:19PM

Especially since almost half the readers said they would keep the Gamecube even though it is almost completely redundant with the backwards compatibility of the Wii. Why wouldn't you keep a groundbreaking system with a host of really good games that, for the most part, you can't play on anything else?